Convex Mirror DIY

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!! Today I have a quick and easy DIY for you. 


I had a pair of small convex mirrors forever. I found them at a thrift shop back in college for $1 each- thinking one day I'd make some sort of frame for them I bought them. But inspiration never came. They sat in my craft box for years.


Then I saw this from Worthing Court Blog. 

So Simple! So Stylish! So Easy! Why didn't I think of this?


I went to Lowe's and found the ceiling medallions I needed. I bought 2 small ones for $7 each instead of the large.

Once I opened my ceiling medallion I realized my mirror was to small for the hole, so I decided to cut a piece of fiber board (Lying around from another project I have yet to start.) using my jig saw and use it as a backing to glue my mirror to. I traced the size of the circle then cut it out a little bit larger than my pen mark so I'd be able to glue it to the back of the medallion.

I didn't mind that it wasn't cut perfectly since I was glueing it to the back of the medallion.

Once it was cut out I glued it on to the back using Gorilla Glue for wood, stone, and metal and let it dry. 

Once that had dried I use a semi gloss white spray paint to paint the whole thing. Though I did learn not to leave my projects lying around or else some one (The Con-Man...) will come by and step right on top of it. Oops... had to do this one all over again!

The final step was gluing my mirrors onto the medallion using the same super glue and done! My mirrors were not the same truck mirrors as in my inspiration project; they had flat backs so there was no prep work to be done. Lucky me!

I hung them in our bedroom. 

I'm glad I finally was able to use these mirrors I've been carting around with me. Do you buy materials for projects and don't always get started on them right away?

Circle Mirrors = Hot & Some Inspiration

Do you mind if I depart from my usual Feature Friday to mention a design trend I've seen around? I've been seeing circle mirrors around a lot lately. I think they are super cool, chic and modern.


I've seen them in catalogs:

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In salons:

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In Bathrooms:

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In Living Rooms:

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And as you might imagine these mirrors can set you back a pretty penny depending on where you buy them. That's why I made my own!

See how you can make your own here! It didn't take me long and was pretty inexpensive.

Now I know what your thinking- Rachelle I don't know how to weld! Well, I hear you. I didn't know how to either until I found out that my grandfather in law had a welder he used for fixing up his lawn/ farm equipment. I wouldn't have known this unless I had mentioned my want to learn welding to my grandmother- in law one day. I came over a few weekends in a row and he showed me the ropes and I built my first tables!

And the rest is history!

So do you know someone who welds? A husband, grandfather, neighbor or friend? Maybe they can help you out with a small project like this, or even better help you get started in your own welding career!

This goes with anything. We see so many inspirational projects on the internet, Pinterest, Blogland with so many talented people behind them it makes me want to learn more! I see so many women with so many great talents- Sewing, Baking, Painting, Building, ect. I feel inspired to better myself and learn some new skills.

One way I'm doing this is taking an upholstery class starting next week! It's something I've always wanted to learn. And I wouldn't have known about it unless I hadn't been running my mouth off again about wanting to learn. Someone told me to check the VoTech school since they offer a lot of different classes. After making several calls around to the college I'm finally taking my first class- something I was never able to accomplish back in San Antonio where we were living before. I'm so excited!


So; I meant for this post to be about cool mirrors but I guess it turned into something else. I guess pregnancy hormones are getting me all emotional.


But seriously- All I want to say is that if there is something you want in life you have to go for it, put yourself out there, let people know what your dreams are and things will fall in to place! You can do anything you set your mind to!


Have a great weekend everyone! I can't wait to show you a project I finished for Con-Man's room next week!

DIY Salvaged Mirror

Oh Monday- you come to quickly. I can't complain to much thought because we had a very full weekend. A rare miracle happened here in Altus, Ok over the weekend; almost a rare as seeing a unicorn. Wait; those don't exist and having a date night with a The Hubs hardly ever exists either so I guess it's partly true. 


We actually had 2 date nights! Con-Man's M.D.O. group had parents night Friday so we caught a movie. We watched Safe Room (I wanted to see The Vow but the Hubs wasn't interested, but watching Ryan Reynolds was fine too...)

Hello!!!!

And then on Saturday we went to the first Annual Altus Chocolate Festival! This is a big deal for our small town- they've never done anything like this before.

We managed to score free tickets and I devoured way to much chocolate. Definitely hit the gym Sunday and going again today! It was a nice Pre- Valentines treat though.

Anyway- lets get to what you really came here for. Check out this cool circle mirror that I made!

Would you believe me if I told you the frame started out as this:

A rusty steel ring from one of our planters. It had come loose and I thought it looked neat- a nice patina of rusty and worn smooth. I yanked it off and got to work. 

First I had to make it usable. I needed some kind flat hanger that I could attach plywood to my steel ring. I found these, they seemed sturdy enough but had a lip on them, so I used the cutting wheel of Dremel to cut the lip off.

Voila Flat hangers! Sometimes they just don't make what you need at the hardware store so you have to invent your own stuff...

Then the fun part- welding! I welded the hangers onto my steel ring.

The next step was to cut a piece of plywood that would fit inside my ring. I had half a sheet of 3/4" ply lying around so I traced a circle and cut it out with my jig saw.

Like my "workbench"?

I had a little trouble with this part, the ring itself had a slight slant inward and turns out it's not a perfect circle. So I had to finagle my plywood a bit to get it to slide in. But in the end it fit and I screwed it in place.

Thankfully one mirror and glass place here in town said they could cut a circle to fit. I called the one other place and they said they didn't cut mirror or circles- what gives? They adhered it to the plywood for me and my mirror was complete!

I love it because it's unique. It had a modern flare but the rustiness makes it kind of natural and relaxed feeling. And the overall cost wasn't to bad- $40 for the mirror to be cut and glued. The clip/hangers were $4 for all. The ring was free!

Have you ever used a material for something other than it's original purpose? 

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